Why is Video Marketing so popular these days? Why does each and every marketer wants to get a video done for their business and social media channels? What has contributed to such a massive craze for videos? Well, there are so many reasons contributing to the ever-growing popularity of video marketing these days. But the one good reason can be, customers now want to see the products in action. Consumers prefer videos than any other marketing channel because videos are easy to digest, fun to watch and quick to share. And marketers love video marketing owing to the considerable return on investment it offers. Leveraging video marketing in the right way has good rewards and boosts YouTube conversions to a great extent.
Video preference is one of the primary driving force behind the kind of content marketing done today. In fact, 300 hours of video are uploaded to YouTube every minute! And the 5 Billion videos are watched every day. This clearly implies the affinity we have towards videos and how a marketer can utilize YouTube to generate traffic.
This whole YouTube traffic generator thing sounds excellent if one is serious enough to drive traffic to the YouTube channel and multiply sales. For a marketer looking for new ways to increase revenue, video can be an effective tool to drive traffic and convert it into sales.
Although video is everywhere, be it Facebook, Instagram, Twitter or LinkedIn, YouTube is still the most preferred and viewed video platform that has tons of potentialities. Despite this, very few marketers utilize YouTube the way it should be and thus missing a large chunk of the market to dive in.
So if you want to get your brand message out to these millions of prospects and boost YouTube views, this article is for you. Keep scrolling down to know the 10 proven techniques to increase YouTube conversions.
1. Create a Custom and Eye-Catchy Thumbnail
This might seem to be petty, but that’s not true. In reality, the thumbnail of a video catches the gaze of a viewer and makes the person stop and click. Amidst the ocean of videos, an eye-catching thumbnail is the only way to trigger curiosity in the onlookers’ mind and help them pick you out of all.
Also, custom thumbnails can create a brand identity and brand recognition, and increase engagement by a whopping 154%. Through the thumbnails, your videos get instant recognition and new prospects come pouring. And with time, your custom thumbnail itself becomes an extension of your brand that leads to more conversions.
2. Enable a Goal-Driven “Next Click” Strategy
Enable a “next click” strategy for each video you publish. This goal-driven call to action will coax the viewers to take action to do something after the video ends. Either your goal can be taking the viewer to a landing page or watch another video or be engaged on a social media channel.
Depending on your goals, this next click strategy generates significant business and drives conversions. Moreover, this strategy enables you to be pro-active about your steps and ensures efficiency. And without a CTO, technically you end up to nowhere.
So if you are wondering as to how to increase YouTube subscribers to your channel, incorporate a next click framework that will gently push the viewers in the right direction and purchase your product or service.
3. YouTube as a SEO Tool
The recent factor of YouTube SEO tool is true! Because if you don’t get seen, you lose business. YouTube being the second most popular search engine, people tend to look up all their queries here. From “how to bake a cake” to “how to put the perfect liner”, YouTube gets all kinds of searches. Thus, marketers must ensure to put suitable keywords that will draw more people to their videos.
When a user finds the exact video he/she is searching for, your video will get sure shot clicks. Targeted keywords draw the audience based on their browser search. This is a great way to get more conversions through YouTube. You would get a lot of resources on the Internet about YouTube keyword tips.
However, don’t use clickbaits in your video tags that can cause trouble than doing any good. Clickbaits are severely punished by Google and result in harsh penalties.
4. Offer Free Stuff to Build Relation with Viewers
Who doesn’t love free stuff! We all do! this concept works best when you intend to boost your YouTube conversions. When users watch your video, they would expect it would bring some value to their life in exchange to the time they have invested. Take advantage of this situation and offer them something ‘free’ to take home.
It can be a bonus video, a video checklist, a pdf or maybe an eBook adding value. One more idea is to merge your reference URL with your freebie item. That will make the conversion process smoother, faster and a lot easier!
5. Compel the viewers to watch your videos till the end
You wouldn’t ever want that people pause and leave your video midway! Sounds terrible right? Well, YouTube traffic statistics say that 80% of viewers who watched a video on YouTube has made a purchase for sure. However, that’s just half news. The full news is, they have to watch it till the end to understand your product or service and your brand message.
Your video content has to be engaging and entertaining enough to hold their attention until the end of the video. And you just have 5 seconds in your hand! Yes, the first 5 seconds is what that holds the attention of a viewer. Within that small span of time, you must make your point or your video will be paused and shifted over.
Also, YouTube’s SEO algorithm is fond of long view times.
6. Pinning a Comment is a Good Idea!
Just as someone finishes binging on a video, they quickly go down to the comment section to check what others say about the piece. Take advantage of these eyeballs and pin a comment to the top of the comment section. That will appear to the new prospects right in the center as your comment will always stick to the top of the comment list.
You may pin a customer testimonial or a brief introduction of what the video is all about and mention a backlink that will take the viewers to your website. The comments section is one of the most prime areas where users flock around, so take advantage of it and pin your comment there.
7. Video titles should be fewer than 180 characters
While searching for a video, the first thing that our eyes get drawn upon, is the video title. The title is one of the primary determining factors whether or not someone would click to watch the video. So ensure you write a catchy, brief, yet informative video title, that compels viewers to click. As per the current YouTube algorithm, titles should not exceed 180 characters.
So you must be smart enough to include the vital information within those few letters. One rule of thumb is, include the important tags and keywords at the beginning of the title. That way, people will get to know what the video is about.
As we know mobile devices account for the most YouTube traffic, reaching people through their Smartphones is the ultimate motto for every marketer. Longer titles don’t show up properly on mobile devices, hence keeping your video titles short is paramount.
8. Leverage the ‘Card’ Power
Everyday YouTube comes up with something new. One of those newbies is the ‘Card’. These small white, circular icon with an “i” in the middle adds further interaction to a video, displaying various CTOs throughout. You can promote your brand and other videos on your channel utilizing these cards.
YouTube allows you to add up to five cards to a video, and they can be donation cards to raise a fund, add polls, cards to link with other videos, or to an external site, or playlist cards to link with similar YouTube content. Depending on what type of channel you run, you may fully leverage these cards to your profit, by getting the viewers to your website or on your email list.
9. Collab is the New Trend
Collaborating with other channels and YouTube personalities is the hottest trend amongst YouTubers now. Collaboration can bring effective results and a more significant impact to your channel. You just need to find the right partner to engage and build relationship that adds value and conversion to your YouTube videos. So this technique is definitely worth giving a try.
You get more exposure and more subscribers by shining a spotlight on your channel. When you collaborate with other channel partners or video creators, you open a chance of turning their viewers into your subscribers too. Thus, you piggyback on the channel partners and make it to success.
If you are mentioned by a prominent YouTube personality, who has a fan following much bigger than yours, the shout out can drive substantial YouTube conversion.
10. Subscription is the Key – Ask for it
More subscribers mean more visibility, exposure and targeted traffic. Gaining fresh subscribers trigger YouTube conversions strikingly. A robust subscriber base creates a strong online community for any channel. Also, YouTube rewards handsomely to channels or video creators. And of course, you build your authority with a large subscriber base behind you.
So encourage viewers to subscribe to your channel by either giving a compelling call to action within your video, or by asking people to subscribe personally. Be present in the video itself as it ends, and ask for the subscription by interacting with the viewer. Interaction on a personal level creates a connection between the video creator and the viewer. That is also a good way to increase subscribers.
Final Thoughts
Generating YouTube conversions might not be rocket science, but yes, there are certain worthwhile rules to follow that will give you the desired ROI. Harness the power of YouTube video marketing with the above-mentioned tips and optimize your channel.
Keep creating meaningful video contents and encourage viewers to subscribe to your channel, and you may be able to increase your conversions over time. Brands tell stories and video is a powerful way to do that. Harnessing video marketing through YouTube helps you stay afloat, reach your existing clients and prospects in less time and convert traffic into sales.
